Wire lapping or like machine



May 31 1949- w. J. L.. wlLDBoRE ET A1. 2,471,469

' WIRE LAPPING OR LIKE MACHINE Filed Nov. s, 1945 Patented May 31, 1949UNITED STATES PATENT GFF-ICE WIREl LAPPING R LIKEiMACIIIlSTE;l

poration of Delaware Application November 3, 1945,' Serial No.f626,563i.In Great Britain September 28, .1944' section 1, Public-Law 690,Auguste, 1946;r`4 Patent expires September 28, 19641K 4 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in `wire lapping or like machinesfor covering a wire or other core with an outer covering in the form ofyarn or the like.

On conventional machines of this type for applying a textile lapping toa conductor a rotating head holds concentrically with the conductor acop of yarn and the conductor is drawn by a capstan through the hollowcentre of the head. The yarn is taken from the cop to a guide on theperiphery of the head and thence back on to the conductor around whichit is lapped helically by the motion of rotation of the head and supplycop, combined with the longitudinal movement of the Wire. In order toflatten the yarn, which would consist of a number of individual parallelilaments, into a ribbon it is customary to run the yarn round the smoothsurface of a guide device, hereinafter known as the spreader When amachine is used for a variety or different sizes oi centre Wire and avariety of different yarn sizes, a complete cover is secured .byvariation of the throughput speed of the wire. This means that the angleof the helix is changed and the relative position of the spreader to theguide point on the head needs to be changed. This is usually done eitherby allowing an adequate length of spreader blade so that the yarn mayrun where it will or by arranging for vertical adjustment being possibleeither in the position of the spreader or in the position of the guidepoint. The long bladed spreader is inefficient since it gives inadequatesupport for the centre Wire and the methods of adjustment suffer fromthe disadvantage that adjustment is only possible when the head isstationary and the optimum adjustment can only be determined by a longand carefully handled process of trial and error.

The object of the present invention is to provide means wherebyadjustment of the spreader position may be made while the machine isrunning, with the result that a more accurate adjustment may be obtainedand the time occupied in adjustment is shorter. Experience has shownthat a considerable improvement in quality results since the optimumconditions can be secured without difficulty.

According to the present invention the spreader is carried on a spindlewhich extends through the hollow head-driving spindle and its positionis adjustable from beloW the rotary head whereby 2.. tion appliedtoaknown forrmofA lapping head4 in which the single figure is a partsectional elevation of the spindle mechanism comprising the novelspreader adjustment.

The usual hollow head driving spindle is shown at I and inside this ismounted a second hollow spindle 2 which carries the spreader 3 at itstOD end. The inner spindle 2 is keyed to the main driving spindle by akey d in spindle l engaging in a keyway 5 cut in spindle 2. This permitsthe spindle 2 to be moved vertically with respect to l butI not torotate relative to it. Thus the spindle 2 and with it the spreader 3 isdriven round with the lapping head.

Control of the vertical movement of 2 is arranged by a thrust collar `6integral with the spindle, as shown in the drawing or brazed to thespindle (not shown in the drawing), and two thrust washer bearings l.These bearings are held in an adjustable housing 8 by a nut S. Theadjustable housing 8 is screwed into the stationary housing I0, iixed tothe main frame of the machine, and fitted with a knurled head ll and alock nut l2. In the drawing the inner assembly is shown in its uppermostposition. Unscrewing the adjustable housing 8 from the xed housing ID bymeans of its knurled head H causes the whole inner assembly to belowered and the spreader 3 is dropped relative to the application head.ISuch adjustment may be made while the head and the inner spindle 2 arerotatingand can be locked in any position by the nut l2.

As shown in the drawing the spreader 3 is screwed into the spindle 2 andsecured by a lock nut I3 so that some adjustment of the normal positionof the spreader with respect to the spindle 2 maybe obtained.

Although the various known parts of the machine have not been describedit will be seen from the drawing that by adjusting the height of thespreader the relative position of the latter to ,the guide point l 4 onthe head l5 is changed and the angle made by the yarn I6 on the wire Ilwhich passes up through the centre spindle may be adjusted to thenatural helix angle determined by the speed of rotation of the head andthe speed of throughput of the centre core.

What is claimed is:

1. In a lapping head, a hollow--head driving spindle, a rotary headthereon, a second spinme nrw-axially mounted within said first spindlefor adjusting the position of said spreader from below said rotary headWhile the latter is rotating.

2. A lapping head as set forth in claim 1, in which said second spindlecarrying said spreader and said rst driving spindle have a ypin andslot, respectively, thereby rotatably coupling the said .two spindlesand permitting relative axial movement between said spindles.

3. A lapping head as set forth in claim 1, in which `a collar and thrustbearing is provided supporting the lower end of said second spindlecarrying said spreader, a housing adjustably mounted in a xed part ofthe machine and carrying said .bearing so that an axial movement of saidhousing with said thrust .bearing elects a corresponding axial movementvof said second spindle Within said irst driving spindle;

4. A lapping head as set forth in claim 1, in which a collar and thrustbearing is provided supporting the lower end of said second spindlecarrying said spreader, a screw .threaded sleeve REFERENCES CITED Thefollowing references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,433,242 Shardlow Oct. 24, 1922FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 710,109 France June 1, 1931

